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On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a 2-1 decision that could gut much of Obamacare by preventing the federal government from offering subsidies to many Americans. The two judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents.

But the full court now has seven judges appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans. It took only an hour or so for the administration to announce that it plans to ask the entire bench to review the decision.

When Obama took to the Rose Garden last June to launch an aggressive campaign to confirm the slate of three new judges to the D.C. Circuit, experts pointed to the critical role that court plays in overseeing federal regulations — something especially important for a president now focused on implementing his agenda through executive actions in the face of the gridlock on Capitol Hill.

The D.C. Circuit has an often crucial impact on environmental and safety regulations, but Tuesday’s decision on Affordable Care Act subsidies is a reminder of just how directly Obama’s legacy — and his signature legislative achievement — may be linked to the Washington-based appeals court.

“I think it was wise strategy. … They’re probably patting themselves on the back,” Curt Levey of the conservative Committee for Justice said Tuesday, referring to the White House’s confirmation drive, which he opposed. “We all knew it was highly unusual, nominating three people at a time to the same circuit. … We knew this wasn’t a coincidence. More than any president, this one is dependent on the D.C. Circuit and that’s why it was such a priority.”

To confirm three new judges last fall, Reid moved to change Senate rules and eliminate filibusters of certain judicial and executive branch nominees. Asked Tuesday whether the ruling by the three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit vindicates his decision to deploy the nuclear option last year, Reid was blunt: “I think if you look at simple math, it does.”

A White House spokesperson declined to comment for this story, but one former official involved in the discussions about nominating the three new D.C. Circuit judges said the strategy is now looking prescient. It “was pretty brilliant,” said the ex-official, who asked not to be named.

Former White House communications director Anita Dunn said the decision to make a public push for the nominees involved some risk because Democrats don’t traditionally rally around the issue of judicial nominations except when a Supreme Court seat is in play.

“It’s a challenge because unlike the Republican Party, the Democratic Party hasn’t spent a lot of time educating grass-roots supporters about the role of the federal judiciary when it comes to issues progressives care about,” said Dunn. “The Republican Party has spent a huge amount of time, 20 to 30 years, educating their grass roots about why these issues are important.”

One conservative legal activist said she believes Obama was specifically worried about challenges to Obamacare when he made the decision to push to fill the three open D.C. Circuit seats at the same time, despite GOP complaints that there were simply not enough cases to justify the appointments.

“I think this is exactly what the president was thinking about when he decided to ram all those judges through,” said Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network. “The president for his whole first term dragged his feet and didn’t seem to think judges were really a priority. Then suddenly, out of the blue, he decides he needs to move on what I’d argue is the least busy circuit in the country. … This is the payoff for him.”